Month: October 2013

Hellraidsounds kind of like Hungry, Hungry Hippos at the end of the world… kind of. If the marbles were enemies and trying to kill you as well as points. Also, your fellow hippos had malicious intentions when it comes to your survival…

Techland has formally announced Hellraid, a first-person co-op slasher that offers two games in one: a single-player, story-driven campaign of hack & slash action; and unique, co-operative multiplayer that pits four players against the denizens of hell – and each other – in a battle for points, rewards and fame.
[Source: Games Press]

Well, I’m interested. After playing Left 4 Dead 2 and Diablo 3 with three friends and loving it more than brownies [1. God, I love brownies].

The Hellraidvideo reminds me of Diablo 3 but less aw inspiring. The description in the press release even sounds like Diablo 3 with the dungeon crawling and looting and hell monsters.

The armies of Hell brought pain and destruction to the realm of man, and only a select few have the fighting skills necessary to confront the devilish monstrosities. Combining elements of hack & slash RPGs, first-person shooters and online multiplayer games, Hellraidfeatures an advanced, immersive combat system with melee, ranged and magical weapons. The engaging Game Master system makes each game a different experience, placing loot and enemies while generating random online challenges.
With exploration, looting, questing, weapon crafting, boss fights, armor customization, character development, leaderboards, magic and so much more, Hellraidis set to drag you straight to hell later this year (the release was pushed to 2014) on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Awakening, like all zombie stories, starts the same way. Someone notices that something isn’t right and they either ignore it or try to do something about it. They tell someone who’s skeptical and then, suddenly, it’s undeniable.
However, in Awakening there’s no suddenly. The build is slow and magnified by the artwork. It’s hard to tell what you’re seeing, just as it’s hard to tell what’s really happening in the city of Park Falls.
The art is some beautiful hybrid between sketching and collage. At first I thought it was messy, but then I realized it was like a good score or well dome lighting in a movie. My inability to fully see detail in Awakening enhanced my experience of the story. Much like the artwork in 30 Days of Night.
But the artwork isn’t Awakening’s only selling point. The ground felt familiar but not over done. The story doesn’t jump straight from confusion to panic. The only person (aside from the post-omnipotent narrator) who believes the increase in murders in Park Falls is due to anything aside from bad days is a crazy ex-scientist who runs around in a surgical mask…
There’s room for this type of character because of the slow build and the the fact that the rest of the world isn’t yet in on the new world order. There’s no prepping or fighting. It’s all suspicion and finger pointing.
The detectives are trying to solve the murders, the crazy lady is trying to convince our protagonist she’s a reliable source and our protagonist just wants to go about his day like the sky was secure.
Park Falls calls in a specialist and there might be a little less skepticism going around.The first issue of Awakening is free on ComiXology. Subsequent issues are are $1.99.
[rating:4/5]